Carolyn Kay Salmi

Carolyn Kay Salmi, known by Kay to all her family and friends, peacefully went to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Sunday morning April 11, 2021, in the hospice unit at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, Illinois, with her husband David and son Kevin at her side. As she passed away, a Sunday church service was playing on a computer in the background of her hospital room; her longtime pastor was preaching that Sunday’s message from Mark about the people coming to Jesus from long distances for salvation and healing.  With those live words from the service being spoken coupled with God’s timing, her longtime battles with many complex physical ailments ended with her ultimate healing. While in hospice, she had the joy of meeting her youngest great-grandchild for the first time as Olivia was brought up from Tennessee for a very touching and special encounter.

Kay was born November 30, 1942, to John Cornelius and Bessie Octavia Johnson in Swea City, Iowa. She was the youngest of 12 children. She spent the majority of her childhood in Fairmont, Minnesota, graduating from Fairmont High School.

On September 18, 1976, she married the love of her life, David, and together they were blessed with a mutual love that only grew as years went by.

Throughout her life, she lived in numerous locations across the country following corporate moves finally settling in Crystal Lake, Illinois in 1990, and recently downsized and moved into a one-story condo in McHenry, Illinois. She loved flowers and gardening and took great joy in the beauty of her gardens at her long time Crystal Lake home.

Jesus was the love of her life followed by the love that outpoured from her for her husband David, her four children and their spouses, her 15 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren and the spouses of her four married grandchildren.

Going back to her teenage years, Kay always had a passion for the homeless, the downtrodden, the elderly and the unborn. As a teenager, she would bring food to those in homeless camps and throughout her life she would reach out to individual homeless people in many ways. For several years, she was the co-leader of a large PADS ministry at an area church.  Since moving to Illinois, she has supported Pacific Garden Mission in their outreach and support to the homeless.

She not only loved Jesus with all her heart, but she put that love into action in her dealings with others. Kay loved God’s Word, memorizing scripture right up to last days of her life. She had memorized word-for-word nearly half of the epistles and about a quarter of the Psalms along with many other selective passages. She also was a prayer warrior who took that role seriously by interceding each day for family, friends, other individuals and other causes. She also led many small groups and Bible studies for over 40 years.

The greatest recipients of her love were those in her huge family. She loved the big family gatherings and the one-on-one time with each individual. She was an encourager and shared the wisdom of Christ to all who would listen.

Kay loved many long road trips (some months in length) with her beloved husband and especially loved the near-annual visits to the family cabin in Minnesota for over 45 years.

Kay is survived by her husband, David; her children Kimberly (Doug) Schumaker, Evan (Donna) Jones, Kevin (Simone) Jones and Joel (Jennifer) Jones; her married grandchildren, Kassi (Cal) Hopkins, Karli (Kyle) Malone, Ashley (Elliot) Green and Aaron (Mary Grace) Jones as well as her other grandchildren John, Sam, Jamison, Abby, Emily, Hannah, Reagan, Ethan, Alexis, Grace and Sophia; and her great-grandchildren Rowan, Finley, Teagan, Scottie, Ella Joy, Olivia, Liam and Greytin. She is also survived by numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents and all 11 of her siblings.

Kay led a well-lived life with an enormous legacy through impacting the lives of so many. She will be missed greatly, but her family is happy to know she is now resting in peace with Jesus and no longer in pain.

Her life will be honored at a Memorial Service on Saturday, May15, at Harvest Bible Chapel, 580 Tracy Trail in Crystal Lake. Visitation will be at 2:00 pm and the Memorial Service at 3:30 pm.

In lieu of flowers and in recognition of Kay’s commitment to Christ and the homeless, the family prefers memorial donations to either Pacific Garden Mission (www.pgm.org) or Harvest Bible Chapel (www.harvestbiblechapel.org) .